The nest is made of dry grass in a thistle-bush or clump of reeds, and is rather deep and cup-shaped. The eggs are four in number, white, and spotted at the larger end with dark red.
[132.] MACHETORNIS RIXOSA (Vieill.).
(SHORT-WINGED TYRANT.)
Machetornis rixosa, Burm. La-Plata Reise, ii. p. 458 (Paraná); Scl. et Salv. P. Z. S. 1868, p. 142; iid. Nomencl. p. 44; Hudson, P. Z. S. 1874, p. 173 (Buenos Ayres); Durnford, Ibis, 1877, p. 177 (Buenos Ayres); Salvin, Ibis, 1880, p. 357 (Salta); Barrows, Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl. viii. p. 142 (Entrerios).
Description.—Above brownish olive; wings and tail brown, the latter terminated by a yellowish band; middle of cap occupied by a scarlet crest; beneath bright yellow, paler on the throat; bill and feet black: whole length 7·2 inches, wing 3·9, tail 3·5. Female similar, but rather duller. Young without the scarlet crest.
Hab. S.E. Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and La Plata.
This species, found in the open districts throughout South America, from Venezuela to Buenos Ayres, where it is quite common, has very interesting habits. It is seven inches and a half long, has a plump body, short wings, and long legs. The upper plumage is light brown, the throat, breast, and belly yellow, and the male has a concealed crest of a bright orange-red colour.
It resembles the true Tyrants in disposition, in its shrill piercing language, and in the habit of perching and breeding in trees. On the other hand, like the long-legged Myiotheretes, that lives on the open plains, it feeds exclusively on the ground, over which it runs with a speed possessed by few perching species. The general impression one forms is that in manners and appearance the Short-winged Tyrant is quite unlike any other species, though all its habits are to be found in one or other of the various groups comprising the Tyrannidæ.
These birds have no migration, but pair for life, and always remain on the same spot, and will continue to breed in the same hole for many years, even where they are frequently deprived of their eggs. Azara saw them sometimes uniting in small flocks in Paraguay; in Buenos Ayres they are always seen in pairs, or, after the young have left the nest, in families. They prefer to live near a human habitation, where there are trees: even one tree, in which they can breed and find shelter at night, will be sufficient to attach them to a dwelling, so great is their partiality for the clean-trodden ground where they can freely run about and catch insects. They haunt the cattle-pens, and become extremely familiar with the cows, horses, and sheep, following them to the pasture-grounds, where they are often seen perched on the back of a horse or other domestic animal, or stationed close to its nose on the ground, watching for insects. On the bare ground they run about with wonderful swiftness, and are able to overtake and capture flying insects without rising. The male and female invariably hunt together, and at intervals fly to some favourite perch to indulge in a duet composed of loud, rapid, shrill notes, somewhat metallic in sound. Though able to fly swiftly when in pursuit of a passing hawk or other bird, at other times their flight is strangely slow; the round body, short blunt wings and tail giving the bird a somewhat curious appearance as it progresses laboriously through the air. I have frequently seen them make the most unprovoked assaults on birds of an inoffensive kind; possibly they are in these attacks moved by a playful rather than by a vindictive spirit. I once saw one drop like a stone from a height of fifty yards on to a Pigeon perched on a leafless tree. The Pigeon fell as if shot to the earth; the Tyrant-bird then released his hold; the Pigeon rushed away terrified through the trees, while its persecutor rose high up in the air and resumed its journey.
I have elsewhere spoken of the wars waged by this bird against other species, all seeking to gain possession of the large nest of Anumbius acuticaudatus. A hole in the trunk of a tree is also a favourite breeding-place. The nest is neatly built of slender twigs and leaves, and lined with horse-hair. The eggs are slightly oval, and densely marked with dark brown spots or stripes on a white or brownish-white ground.